Whether it's for two or twenty, I love making breakfast at the cottage. But on Sunday I was glad to step back, sip my coffee and enjoy watching Ralph prepare a favorite breakfast dish - chilaquiles. This traditional Mexican breakfast is something that Ralph's mom made, and what makes his version particularly wonderful is the inclusion of his homemade salsa.
Ralph's salsa has a great smoked flavor rich with cumin, tomato, garlic, a touch of cilantro and just enough heat to make you pay attention. Using the salsa in the chilaquiles really makes it explode with flavor. But, for people who don't happen to make delicious salsa from scratch, one could use their favorite bottled brand.
Another component that really makes chilaquiles is the type of chip used. Ralph told me that sometimes his mom would make her own corn chips. We have found that the chips made at the Honey Bee Market in Detroit's Mexicantown neighborhood work beautifully. The chips are a little thicker than average and have a good hearty crunch - they hold up in the skillet with the salsa, eggs and cheese and don't get too mushy.
As much as I love waffles and bacon, I will ALWAYS sit out when Ralph offers to make his chilaquiles!
Chilaquiles
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 large onion - diced
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1/2 of a green or red bell pepper - diced fine
2 cups of your favorite salsa
5-6 handfuls of sturdy corn chips
6 eggs
2 cups shredded mild cheese (colby, cheddar, queso fresco, Muenster, etc)
Heat oil in electric skillet or large skillet on top of stove. Add onions and saute until soft - about 3/4 minutes. Add garlic and diced pepper - cook for one minute more. Slowly add in salsa (it will sizzle!). Mix ingredients. Add corn chips and mix to coat chips with salsa mixture. Add six eggs (you can add them whole or whisk them together in bowl before adding). Using spatula, combine ingredients well and cover skillet for a minute or so. Make sure eggs are cooked completely. Turn off heat. Sprinkle shredded cheese over top and cover, let stand for a minute or two until cheese is melted. Cut into sections with spatula and serve. Can be topped with dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of fresh cilantro, if desired. Enjoy!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Rolling in Rhubarb? How About a Rhubarb Custard Pie?
Beside the weather FINALLY getting nice, the best part about late May and early June in Michigan is the annual harvest of rhubarb. It seems to be everywhere. Up in Michigan's Thumb, it's not unusual to see signs that say "Rhubarb" in front of homes. In one case, a sweet elderly couple had themselves a bumper crop of the tart red stalks and were selling them at the local flea market. They were bound in bunches of ten stalks - price: $1. Now, even if you don't like rhubarb you have to buy it with a deal like that!!
I've been stocking up as this really is a seasonal thing. I wash the stalks and trim them, cut them up into inch sized pieces, put them in bags and in the freezer they go. If you have room between the Cool Whip and peas and carrots for a few bags of rhubarb, you'll be glad to have them in the freezer in September when you have a hankering for warm rhubarb sauce.
Over the weekend, I thought I'd put some of my recently acquired rhubarb to use and put together a pie. There are lots of variations: rhubarb-strawberry, rhubarb-blueberry, rhubarb-pineapple (sounds crazy but it's wonderful). I decided on a rhubarb-custard pie. The rhubarb provides the tart, the custard brings home the sweet. Much like life, a fine balance of the two tastes.
Of course, this pie starts with making a crust. Most people who bake with any regularity have a go-to crust recipe. Or, some folks who bake don't want all the fuss and like the ease of unrolling a Pillsbury crust from the supermarket. This is a 9-inch double crust pie - so make your dough any way you like. Here's my recipe:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening (Crisco, lard or a combination of the two)
4-5 TBSP ice cold water
Mix the flour and salt. Add a little more than half of the shortening. Cut it in with a pastry blender. When flour is looking like very coarse meal, add the rest of the shortening and continue to cut in until it is incorporated and the pieces are small - about pea size. Add cold water a tablespoon a time until dough comes together with a fork and can be formed into a ball. Cut ball in half and flatten each half into the shape of a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
Rhubarb Custard Pie Filling
I can't take any credit for this recipe. It comes out of the 1950 edition of the Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book. This book was a gift from my dear cottage neighbor who always seem to find things that she knows I will love, like this classic cook book. With the shelves and shelves of cookbooks in my library, I come back to this book perhaps the most (with the possible exception of the 1953 edition of the Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book). I made a few modifications to suit my own tastes, so feel free to make it to your liking.
3 eggs
2 and 2/3 TBSP milk
2 cups of sugar (if you don't want it super sweet - cut this back to 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. nutmeg (I replace this with 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
4 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 TBSP butter
Method:
Preheat oven to 400°F
Line pie pan with bottom crust.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk and mix well.
Stir in sugar, flour and spices.
Add rhubarb, stir.
Pour into pastry-lined pan.
Dot with butter.
Cover with top crust. Make a number of vent slits in top crust - make a hole in center for venting.
Bake @ 400° F until set and nicely browned, about 45-50 minutes.
It's wonderful with vanilla ice cream, but then most things are. Enjoy!
I've been stocking up as this really is a seasonal thing. I wash the stalks and trim them, cut them up into inch sized pieces, put them in bags and in the freezer they go. If you have room between the Cool Whip and peas and carrots for a few bags of rhubarb, you'll be glad to have them in the freezer in September when you have a hankering for warm rhubarb sauce.
Over the weekend, I thought I'd put some of my recently acquired rhubarb to use and put together a pie. There are lots of variations: rhubarb-strawberry, rhubarb-blueberry, rhubarb-pineapple (sounds crazy but it's wonderful). I decided on a rhubarb-custard pie. The rhubarb provides the tart, the custard brings home the sweet. Much like life, a fine balance of the two tastes.
Of course, this pie starts with making a crust. Most people who bake with any regularity have a go-to crust recipe. Or, some folks who bake don't want all the fuss and like the ease of unrolling a Pillsbury crust from the supermarket. This is a 9-inch double crust pie - so make your dough any way you like. Here's my recipe:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening (Crisco, lard or a combination of the two)
4-5 TBSP ice cold water
Mix the flour and salt. Add a little more than half of the shortening. Cut it in with a pastry blender. When flour is looking like very coarse meal, add the rest of the shortening and continue to cut in until it is incorporated and the pieces are small - about pea size. Add cold water a tablespoon a time until dough comes together with a fork and can be formed into a ball. Cut ball in half and flatten each half into the shape of a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
Rhubarb Custard Pie Filling
I can't take any credit for this recipe. It comes out of the 1950 edition of the Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book. This book was a gift from my dear cottage neighbor who always seem to find things that she knows I will love, like this classic cook book. With the shelves and shelves of cookbooks in my library, I come back to this book perhaps the most (with the possible exception of the 1953 edition of the Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book). I made a few modifications to suit my own tastes, so feel free to make it to your liking.
3 eggs
2 and 2/3 TBSP milk
2 cups of sugar (if you don't want it super sweet - cut this back to 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. nutmeg (I replace this with 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
4 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 TBSP butter
Method:
Preheat oven to 400°F
Line pie pan with bottom crust.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk and mix well.
Stir in sugar, flour and spices.
Add rhubarb, stir.
Pour into pastry-lined pan.
Dot with butter.
Cover with top crust. Make a number of vent slits in top crust - make a hole in center for venting.
Bake @ 400° F until set and nicely browned, about 45-50 minutes.
It's wonderful with vanilla ice cream, but then most things are. Enjoy!
A Pot Roast In Paradise - Sunday Dinner at the Cottage
Few things really say "comfort food" better than pot roast, I think. It is certainly not new-fangled or trendy, but anyone who appreciates a meat-and-potatoes kind of meal understands that a pot roast can represent slow-food at it's best. On Sunday, with the beautiful early June weather rolling off the lake, the weekend was topped off with dinner that was as satisfying as the weekend was wonderful.
I'm lucky to have a good market in town with its own butcher who always puts out a fantastic array of offerings. When I caught eye of the wonderful chuck roasts on display, I knew what I had to do.
Sunday (or any day) Pot Roast
3-4 lb chuck roast (you could also use an "English" roast)
salt and pepper
2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 medium onions, quartered
4 whole cloves garlic, smashed
2 lbs potatoes (Yukon gold, redskins, white, peeled russets)
1 lb carrots
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 can beef stock/broth
water (as needed)
1 mushroom bouillon cube
1 packet of G. Washington's Rich Brown Seasoning & Broth (or a beef bouillon cube)
In a roaster pan (that has a cover) heat oil on top of the stove. When oil is hot, put in chuck roast that has been seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper. Let meat sear for about 4-5 minutes until a light brown crust is formed, and then flip and repeat on other side. When the other side is seared, take off heat. Add can of beef stock and enough water so liquid come up halfway the thickness of the roast. Add bouillon and/or seasoning mix to liquid and add onions and garlic to liquid. Cover and put in a 350 degree oven for 1:45-2 hours. Remove from oven and open cover (careful there will be a lot of steam). Add potatoes, carrots to liquid. Scatter the mushrooms on top of roast and other vegetables. Cover and return to a 300 degree oven for another hour.
Enjoy!
I'm lucky to have a good market in town with its own butcher who always puts out a fantastic array of offerings. When I caught eye of the wonderful chuck roasts on display, I knew what I had to do.
Sunday (or any day) Pot Roast
3-4 lb chuck roast (you could also use an "English" roast)
salt and pepper
2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 medium onions, quartered
4 whole cloves garlic, smashed
2 lbs potatoes (Yukon gold, redskins, white, peeled russets)
1 lb carrots
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 can beef stock/broth
water (as needed)
1 mushroom bouillon cube
1 packet of G. Washington's Rich Brown Seasoning & Broth (or a beef bouillon cube)
In a roaster pan (that has a cover) heat oil on top of the stove. When oil is hot, put in chuck roast that has been seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper. Let meat sear for about 4-5 minutes until a light brown crust is formed, and then flip and repeat on other side. When the other side is seared, take off heat. Add can of beef stock and enough water so liquid come up halfway the thickness of the roast. Add bouillon and/or seasoning mix to liquid and add onions and garlic to liquid. Cover and put in a 350 degree oven for 1:45-2 hours. Remove from oven and open cover (careful there will be a lot of steam). Add potatoes, carrots to liquid. Scatter the mushrooms on top of roast and other vegetables. Cover and return to a 300 degree oven for another hour.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Eating ala Polska - Making Kapusta & Kielbasa
We enjoyed a weekend of Polish cooking and eating over Memorial Day at the cottage. While the weather left something to be desired, there was no shortage of good times as family and friends came up to celebrate the long weekend. In preparing for company, the question is always what to make. I thought some Polish fare might be in order, since there would be some fellow Poles in the mix over the weekend.
The first dish we made was kapusta - Polish sauerkraut. It always amazes me when I go into a Polish restaurant or have a Polish cook prepare a meal that includes sauerkraut. Typically, what I see on the plate is something that involved no more than a can opener. Yes, this is technically sauerkraut, but in the great tradition of Polish cooking it simply will not do! Kapusta is something that is long-simmered, and while it requires brined or pickled cabbage, there is so much more to it. I've made hundred of pounds (maybe more) of kapusta for church dinners, big parties, etc. I make it as my mom made it, and she got the recipe from my dad's mother. It's something, like soup, that is difficult to make a small quantity of - but that's alright because if there is any left over, it freezes beautifully.
So, when you have a little time and really want to make something special for a Polish (or any other) meal - especially if you are serving pork or poultry - don't just open a can. Make something special that you and your guests will really enjoy!
Making Kapusta
Polish Kapusta
4 large cans sauerkraut (rinsed and drained)
4-5 medium onions, diced
1 stick of butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 1/2 - 2 tsp. caraway seeds
1 1/2 lbs. pork neck bones
salt and pepper (to taste)
water
In a small electric roaster or 8 quart pot, melt butter and add onions. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook onions until translucent. Once onions are done, add the sauerkraut, brown sugar, bouillon, onion soup mix, caraway seeds and enough water to come up to the top of the sauerkraut. Mix ingredients well, making sure the onions on the bottom are well incorporated into the cabbage. Lay neck bones on the top, cover and bring to a simmer. Keep cover on and continue simmer for six hours. Check water level periodically and add more if necessary - do not stir! After the cooking time carefully remove neck bones from top. Using a fork, pull meat off bones and discard bones and any remaining cartilage. Return meat to kapusta and mix it in. You can serve immediately or transfer to small containers and place in refrigerator or freezer. Freezes up to six months.
Smacznego!!
Once the kapusta was made, I thought it would be good to serve it with kielbasa. There are lots of options for Polish sausage out there, and most of what is sold in the supermarkets are a far cry from the real deal. Sausage also gets a bad rap because most of what is made commercially is not very good for you. Load with salt, nitrates and preservatives, these fatty tubes are heart attacks in the making. But it doesn't have to be that way. When you make your own sausage you know exactly what goes into in, and you can control the amount of fat, salt and other ingredients. Once you've had homemade kielbasa, you'll understand why it is well worth the effort to make.
Making Kielbasa
5 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder (boneless, excess fat trimmed)
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
3 TBSP salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 cup water
natural casing (most butchers will be able to supply you with this)
You need to have a food/meat grinder for this job. There are the old-school types that are hand-powered (like I use), but there are also electric ones and attachments that can be added to your stand mixer (like Kitchen Aid).
Insert the course die on your grinder. Cut the pork into cubes (maybe an inch to an inch 1/2), trimming off any excess fat. You don't want to remove all the fat - fat provides moisture and flavor, but depending on the cut of your pork, you will probably have more fat on the meat than you want going into your sausage. Run the cubed pork through the grinder. In a shallow pan or bowl, combine the garlic, salt, pepper, marjoram and water with the ground pork. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator overnight. The next day, put the sausage stuffer attachment on your grinder. Prepare casing (it may be packed in salt - if so, soak in water for a few minutes, this will make it easier to handle) and fit casing over stuffing tube. Run meat through the machine taking care not to allow air into the casing a filling the casing so that it is snug around the meat but not overstuffed. You don't want the casing to break. Make sausages to desired length. You can tie off the ends with string, or tie knots in the casing itself. Once sausage is made, you can grill it, boil it or bake it. I prefer to boil/bake it in the oven in a covered pan of water at 375 degrees for about an hour. This will render some of the fat out of the sausage and keep it moist. Serve with horseradish and your homemade kapusta!
Smacznego!!
The first dish we made was kapusta - Polish sauerkraut. It always amazes me when I go into a Polish restaurant or have a Polish cook prepare a meal that includes sauerkraut. Typically, what I see on the plate is something that involved no more than a can opener. Yes, this is technically sauerkraut, but in the great tradition of Polish cooking it simply will not do! Kapusta is something that is long-simmered, and while it requires brined or pickled cabbage, there is so much more to it. I've made hundred of pounds (maybe more) of kapusta for church dinners, big parties, etc. I make it as my mom made it, and she got the recipe from my dad's mother. It's something, like soup, that is difficult to make a small quantity of - but that's alright because if there is any left over, it freezes beautifully.
So, when you have a little time and really want to make something special for a Polish (or any other) meal - especially if you are serving pork or poultry - don't just open a can. Make something special that you and your guests will really enjoy!
Making Kapusta
Polish Kapusta
4 large cans sauerkraut (rinsed and drained)
4-5 medium onions, diced
1 stick of butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 1/2 - 2 tsp. caraway seeds
1 1/2 lbs. pork neck bones
salt and pepper (to taste)
water
In a small electric roaster or 8 quart pot, melt butter and add onions. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook onions until translucent. Once onions are done, add the sauerkraut, brown sugar, bouillon, onion soup mix, caraway seeds and enough water to come up to the top of the sauerkraut. Mix ingredients well, making sure the onions on the bottom are well incorporated into the cabbage. Lay neck bones on the top, cover and bring to a simmer. Keep cover on and continue simmer for six hours. Check water level periodically and add more if necessary - do not stir! After the cooking time carefully remove neck bones from top. Using a fork, pull meat off bones and discard bones and any remaining cartilage. Return meat to kapusta and mix it in. You can serve immediately or transfer to small containers and place in refrigerator or freezer. Freezes up to six months.
Smacznego!!
Once the kapusta was made, I thought it would be good to serve it with kielbasa. There are lots of options for Polish sausage out there, and most of what is sold in the supermarkets are a far cry from the real deal. Sausage also gets a bad rap because most of what is made commercially is not very good for you. Load with salt, nitrates and preservatives, these fatty tubes are heart attacks in the making. But it doesn't have to be that way. When you make your own sausage you know exactly what goes into in, and you can control the amount of fat, salt and other ingredients. Once you've had homemade kielbasa, you'll understand why it is well worth the effort to make.
Making Kielbasa
5 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder (boneless, excess fat trimmed)
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
3 TBSP salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 cup water
natural casing (most butchers will be able to supply you with this)
You need to have a food/meat grinder for this job. There are the old-school types that are hand-powered (like I use), but there are also electric ones and attachments that can be added to your stand mixer (like Kitchen Aid).
Insert the course die on your grinder. Cut the pork into cubes (maybe an inch to an inch 1/2), trimming off any excess fat. You don't want to remove all the fat - fat provides moisture and flavor, but depending on the cut of your pork, you will probably have more fat on the meat than you want going into your sausage. Run the cubed pork through the grinder. In a shallow pan or bowl, combine the garlic, salt, pepper, marjoram and water with the ground pork. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator overnight. The next day, put the sausage stuffer attachment on your grinder. Prepare casing (it may be packed in salt - if so, soak in water for a few minutes, this will make it easier to handle) and fit casing over stuffing tube. Run meat through the machine taking care not to allow air into the casing a filling the casing so that it is snug around the meat but not overstuffed. You don't want the casing to break. Make sausages to desired length. You can tie off the ends with string, or tie knots in the casing itself. Once sausage is made, you can grill it, boil it or bake it. I prefer to boil/bake it in the oven in a covered pan of water at 375 degrees for about an hour. This will render some of the fat out of the sausage and keep it moist. Serve with horseradish and your homemade kapusta!
Smacznego!!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Cottage Kitchen - Making Risotto and Gnocchi
Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted on Cavalcade, but it's been a long, cold winter here in Michigan and so other than some routine baking for my crew at work, I've been in hibernation! Now that spring has FINALLY arrived (only within the last couple of weeks has the weather even been warm), this bear has emerged from his cave and is ready to go!
The first weekend of May I opened my cottage for the season. This is always a ritual that brings great excitement and comfort. The shutters are off, the water is on, the cobwebs have been dusted away and now the place is ready for another season of life. There is no place on the earth that I love more, and I often threaten that one day I'll leave for the cottage and not return. My dream is to make good on that some day.
My dad gave me a video camera as a gift, thinking this would be something I'd like. I guess he knows me well, because I've been having a lot of fun with it. Ralph and I were talking about all the great meals that are served at the cottage during the season. In addition to enjoying the beautiful Lake Huron and Michigan's Thumb, me and my guests do a lot of cooking at the cottage, and wouldn't it be great to get it on video?
As the summer approaches, the bounty of Michigan's farmland will begin to avail itself to us, and with it comes endless possibilities for good cooking and eating. Not to mention all the bread, cakes, pies and canning projects that are routine throughout the summer and autumn. And, of course, there's lots of Polish food - city chicken, kapusta, pierogi and homemade kielbasa.
So, with Ralph serving as cameraman, we embark on videologue called, "Cottage Kitchen" that will serve to share some of these moments of cooking, sharing and celebrating life with family and friends.
Here are the first two installments from this past weekend. I guess we were in an Italian mood, as two of our dinners were centered on great Italian fare: risotto and gnocchi. I'm happy to report that both dishes came out beautifully, which made the efforts worthwhile. These were both dishes that my mom used to occasionally make - she made them look so easy, as she did with most things - and I felt her guidance as I stumbled through some of the mechanics of creating these dishes. Thanks, mom - I think of you every day!
Cottage Kitchen - "Risotto"
2 TBSP olive oil
8 oz sliced mushrooms (your choice - we used baby bellas)
2 TBSP olive oil + 2 TBSP butter
1 small onion - diced fine
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
4 1/2 cups hot chicken stock
Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
4 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Saute mushrooms in olive oil until tender (about 4-5 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside.Add olive oil and butter to pan and saute diced onion until translucent (about 3 minutes). Add rice and stir to coat all grains with oil/butter. Let rice toast in pan for about 2 minutes. Add first ladle of hot chicken broth (about a cup) and stir until broth is absorbed and rice begins to release some of its starch. Repeat this process one ladle at a time until all the broth has been added and absorbed. Rice should be creamy and slightly al dente. Add mushrooms back in, pepper as needed and then add the Parmesan cheese. Stir and enjoy!
Cottage Kitchen - "Gnocchi"
8-10 medium russet potatoes
1 egg yolk
2-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 TBSP salt
A big pot of boiling water
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 TBSP salt
Pierce potatoes with fork a couple of times and bake in 350 degree oven for an hour, or until soft. Remove potatoes from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Slice hot potatoes lengthwise and scoop out flesh with a spoon. Once all the potatoes have been removed from their skins, put potatoes through a ricer or food mill. Let potatoes cool some more - about five minutes. To potatoes add egg yolk, 2 cups of flour and the salt. Stir with a spoon. As dough comes together work with your hands until all the flour has been combined into the potatoes. Remove from bowl. Flour a board and kneed dough for a couple of minutes by hand. Add additional flour if dough is too sticky. When dough is smooth, break off a piece about the size of an egg and roll on board into a tube that is about as big around as your thumb. It will probably be about 12 inches long or so. Cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces with knife. Roll small dumplings on the backside of a fork to make small indentations. Set finished dumpling on a floured dish. Continue process until all the dough is used. Have a big pot of water at boiling point - add vegetable oil and salt. Add gnocchi ONE AT A TIME into the water (about 20 at a time) - turn the heat down if boiling too rapidly. When gnocchi are cooked they will float to the top. Remove cooked gnocchi and continue process until they are all cooked. Cover with your favorite sauce and dig in!
The sauce we made:
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes
1 medium onion - cut in half leaving the root ends intact
5 TBSP butter
pinch of salt (to taste)
pinch of pepper (to taste)
pinch of sugar (to taste)
Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and cover. Simmer over low heat 45 minutes to an hour. Stir occasionally and press whole tomatoes against pan wall with spoon to help break them down. This is a light sauce with big tomato and onion flavor and a silky buttery finish.
The first weekend of May I opened my cottage for the season. This is always a ritual that brings great excitement and comfort. The shutters are off, the water is on, the cobwebs have been dusted away and now the place is ready for another season of life. There is no place on the earth that I love more, and I often threaten that one day I'll leave for the cottage and not return. My dream is to make good on that some day.
My dad gave me a video camera as a gift, thinking this would be something I'd like. I guess he knows me well, because I've been having a lot of fun with it. Ralph and I were talking about all the great meals that are served at the cottage during the season. In addition to enjoying the beautiful Lake Huron and Michigan's Thumb, me and my guests do a lot of cooking at the cottage, and wouldn't it be great to get it on video?
As the summer approaches, the bounty of Michigan's farmland will begin to avail itself to us, and with it comes endless possibilities for good cooking and eating. Not to mention all the bread, cakes, pies and canning projects that are routine throughout the summer and autumn. And, of course, there's lots of Polish food - city chicken, kapusta, pierogi and homemade kielbasa.
So, with Ralph serving as cameraman, we embark on videologue called, "Cottage Kitchen" that will serve to share some of these moments of cooking, sharing and celebrating life with family and friends.
Here are the first two installments from this past weekend. I guess we were in an Italian mood, as two of our dinners were centered on great Italian fare: risotto and gnocchi. I'm happy to report that both dishes came out beautifully, which made the efforts worthwhile. These were both dishes that my mom used to occasionally make - she made them look so easy, as she did with most things - and I felt her guidance as I stumbled through some of the mechanics of creating these dishes. Thanks, mom - I think of you every day!
Cottage Kitchen - "Risotto"
2 TBSP olive oil
8 oz sliced mushrooms (your choice - we used baby bellas)
2 TBSP olive oil + 2 TBSP butter
1 small onion - diced fine
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
4 1/2 cups hot chicken stock
Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
4 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Saute mushrooms in olive oil until tender (about 4-5 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside.Add olive oil and butter to pan and saute diced onion until translucent (about 3 minutes). Add rice and stir to coat all grains with oil/butter. Let rice toast in pan for about 2 minutes. Add first ladle of hot chicken broth (about a cup) and stir until broth is absorbed and rice begins to release some of its starch. Repeat this process one ladle at a time until all the broth has been added and absorbed. Rice should be creamy and slightly al dente. Add mushrooms back in, pepper as needed and then add the Parmesan cheese. Stir and enjoy!
Cottage Kitchen - "Gnocchi"
8-10 medium russet potatoes
1 egg yolk
2-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 TBSP salt
A big pot of boiling water
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 TBSP salt
Pierce potatoes with fork a couple of times and bake in 350 degree oven for an hour, or until soft. Remove potatoes from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Slice hot potatoes lengthwise and scoop out flesh with a spoon. Once all the potatoes have been removed from their skins, put potatoes through a ricer or food mill. Let potatoes cool some more - about five minutes. To potatoes add egg yolk, 2 cups of flour and the salt. Stir with a spoon. As dough comes together work with your hands until all the flour has been combined into the potatoes. Remove from bowl. Flour a board and kneed dough for a couple of minutes by hand. Add additional flour if dough is too sticky. When dough is smooth, break off a piece about the size of an egg and roll on board into a tube that is about as big around as your thumb. It will probably be about 12 inches long or so. Cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces with knife. Roll small dumplings on the backside of a fork to make small indentations. Set finished dumpling on a floured dish. Continue process until all the dough is used. Have a big pot of water at boiling point - add vegetable oil and salt. Add gnocchi ONE AT A TIME into the water (about 20 at a time) - turn the heat down if boiling too rapidly. When gnocchi are cooked they will float to the top. Remove cooked gnocchi and continue process until they are all cooked. Cover with your favorite sauce and dig in!
The sauce we made:
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes
1 medium onion - cut in half leaving the root ends intact
5 TBSP butter
pinch of salt (to taste)
pinch of pepper (to taste)
pinch of sugar (to taste)
Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and cover. Simmer over low heat 45 minutes to an hour. Stir occasionally and press whole tomatoes against pan wall with spoon to help break them down. This is a light sauce with big tomato and onion flavor and a silky buttery finish.
Monday, November 29, 2010
If loving this fruitcake is wrong - I don't want to be right!
Fruitcakes? Really?!?
Yes, really. I'm the first one to make a fruitcake joke (pun intended!), but I'm convinced the reason why so many people detest these annual holiday cake-bricks is that they have experienced so many awful ones. I know chewed on a few dense, tasteless versions. I have also had the extreme pleasure of sinking my teeth into some luscious, choc-full-of-everything-good, festive fruitcakes. (Pictured - Dad chopping up 2+ pounds of roasted pecans for the batter.)
When you see really good fruitcakes in the bakery or story, they might seem pricey considering their size. There's a couple of things at work here. First, they are not meant to be eaten like Moon-Pies, devoured one after the other (that's how everyone eats their Moon-Pies, right?). A good fruitcake is savored in small slices, sometimes with coffee or tea, or with a nice glass of brandy or egg nog. A little goes a long way.
The second reason for the hefty price, the stuff that goes in them are expensive, comparatively speaking, to the ingredients of many other Christmas baked goods. (Pictured - pounds of candied cherries and pineapples - yes some of them are GREEN - and a couple more pounds of golden raisins and dates. In the background - a pound of butter softening up.)
Sometime during Thanksgiving weekend, Dad, Marianne (aka "Sister") and I make up our fruitcakes for holiday entertaining. When mom was still with us, she generally made them at this time, so that they would have a month or so to cure with the wine-soaked cheese cloths prior to that first cut. We use the same recipe that mom and my grandma used - it came from my Aunt Helen, actually my great-aunt, she was one of grandpa's sisters and never turned down a cold beer - my kind of girl! (Pictured - creaming the butter before the dry ingredients get mixed in.)
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While the recipe is not complicated, it's not something you can throw together in a few minutes. There are a number of steps, beginning with chopping the pounds of nuts and fruits that will get folded into the batter. The batter itself, which uses a pound of butter and ten eggs (how bad can that be?!?) flour, baking soda, a little mace, vanilla and sugar, really puts the test to any mixer. I'm sure when Aunt Helen started making this recipe, she probably didn't have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer like I have, and probably used the biggest bowl she could find and a wooden spoon. Even now, the mixer will only take the batter so far. the fruit and nuts must be mixed in by hand. (Pictured - Dad getting a workout by mixing pounds of nuts and fruit into the stiff cake batter and making sure that each part of the batter gets a little bit of everything.)
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One recipe makes four standard loaf pans. Once the pans are greased, the batter goes in almost to the top - this cake does not rise much - it's too heavy! Once the batter is in the pans, we decorate the tops of the cakes with pecans (that makes it fancy!) and in the oven they go. These bake in a somewhat slow oven (285 degrees) for two hours. You know they are done when they are lightly golden on the tops.
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Pictured is the finished product, right out of the oven. I can't tell you how awesome the smell is in the house while these are baking. There is something very old-fashioned about these cakes, and something very comforting. Like most heirloom food, they remind me of the people I loved who make these cakes before it was my turn to do so. So, I look back and know that my mom is, like always, in the kitchen with us as we bake these wonderful traditions. And I look forward, knowing that these cakes will be shared as we celebrate Christmas, and all that it means, with the people we love today and are fortunate to have close. 
After the cakes cool for a couple of hours I remove them from the pans and let them sit on a baking rack for another hour or so. Then it is time to give them their first wrap. Wine is poured in a bowl (I like to use a white semi-dry) and cheesecloth is soaked in the wine. The cloth is then wrapped around the cake, as the wine will gradually be absorbed. Then, I wrap it in Saran Wrap, then in foil, and in the fridge it goes for a couple of weeks. It will come out again and for a second soaking of the cheesecloth in wine, and wrapped back up.This is a fruitcake to love!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Come Cook With Me - Let's Make Golabki! (Stuffed Cabbage)
Let's face it, who can turn down a GIGANTIC head of cabbage for only a dollar? When walking through Detroit's Eastern Market on Saturday, I was bombarded with huge cabbages, cauliflower, squash of every variety and literally tons and tons of beautiful Michigan apples. I couldn't buy it all, but for my money, the huge cabbage was a must-have!
Once the leaf is trimmed, it's ready to roll! You can see the photo of the meat mixture (pork, beef, rice, onion and seasoning). Determining how much filling to put in each leaf depends on how large your leaves are and how much filling you have. We had nice, big leaves - so after some reviewing, we decided on 3 1/2 ounces of filling per leaf. As you continue to peel away at the cabbage, the leaves naturally get smaller, so the last few we did we only put in 3 ounces of filling.
There is a little technique to rolling the golabki. Marianne has it down - you start with the filling at the bottom and roll once around, then you fold in the sides, and complete the rolling. This makes a nice, tight seal for the filling and totally surrounds it with cabbage goodness.
Finally, the golabki are ready to go in the oven. For the first bake, put them in for one and a half hour at 350 degrees. When you take them out, keep them covered. Let them cool. Put them in the refrigerator. DO NOT EAT THEM!! They haven't achieved their full potential - they must sit for a day (or two) and then, and only then, can you put them back in the oven for a second bake - one hour at 325 degrees, and enjoy every succulent bite! Or, you can put them in the freezer (like we're doing tonight) for a later time.
I love cabbage. It gets a pretty bad wrap, and it seems more and more, the hearty cabbage seems to be fading from the everyday culinary landscape. I'm not on a cabbage crusade by any stretch of the imagination, but there are a couple of things that one can make with cabbage that are among life's greatest pleasures. A hundred variations on cole slaw would be one, and golabki (this is the Polish word), or stuffed cabbage is another.
Often, I will hear people say things like, "making golabki is so much work - I don't bother anymore." Yes, it's work to make stuffed cabbage, just like it's work to make bread, or cook a roast, or make mashed potatoes, so what's the difference?? Either you're going to work and make stuff, or you can fill your pantry with shoes and just go out to eat all the time.
So, I had the big, beautiful head of cabbage. Now I had to do something with it. I made up my mind we (meaning dear sister Marianne, Dad and myself) would make golabki. With the holidays coming up, there would be any number of occasions where we could serve them. So, yesterday Dad went to our favorite Polish butcher - Joyview Meats (on Joy Rd. just east of Telegraph in Redford) and got two pounds of pork and one pound of beef (chuck) ground together. When I got home from work, I sauteed one large onion in butter with a little salt and pepper and then added the onion, a cup of cooked rice, a couple of crumbled chicken bouillon cubes and some salt and pepper to the meat. It went in a ziplock back and back in the fridge.
When I got home today, it was time to begin. With the meat filling ready to go, we got into the kitchen. I got the largest pot I have (I use it for canning) and filled it two-thirds with water and got in on the stove. You really can't start until you have your water at full boil. Dad cut the core (stem) out of the bottom of the cabbage. This helps the leaves to release when they are in the hot water. We put out some towels and got out the food scale. (Photo - there's Dad carefully lifting the cabbage leaves off the head as they blanch in the water and soften up a little)
Once the leaves come out of the pot, they have to be trimmed before they can be used. This was my job. You take the leaf and cut the center vein off the outside. This vein is always tough, and it prevents the leaf from rolling easily, so it really needs to be removed. With the vein off, the entire leaf is now the same thickness and the golabki are more uniform. But be careful, these leaves are hot coming out of the water and you don't want to tear them while trimming. Practice makes perfect! (Photo - me trimming the outside center vein of the cabbage leaf)
Once the leaf is trimmed, it's ready to roll! You can see the photo of the meat mixture (pork, beef, rice, onion and seasoning). Determining how much filling to put in each leaf depends on how large your leaves are and how much filling you have. We had nice, big leaves - so after some reviewing, we decided on 3 1/2 ounces of filling per leaf. As you continue to peel away at the cabbage, the leaves naturally get smaller, so the last few we did we only put in 3 ounces of filling.
It is usually easier to portion out the filling in advance. This way, when the cabbage leaves start coming to the table, you can start rolling. Sister was in charge of the rolling, and using a food scale she made up the filling portions and was ready to go! (Photo: Marianne at the table making up the filling for the golabki)
There is a little technique to rolling the golabki. Marianne has it down - you start with the filling at the bottom and roll once around, then you fold in the sides, and complete the rolling. This makes a nice, tight seal for the filling and totally surrounds it with cabbage goodness.
Notice (photo left) that before the golabki are put into the roasting pan, the pan is lined with cabbage leaves. These are either the outside leaves that are torn, or very thick and wouldn't work well for a roll. By doing this the golabki are sort of kept in a cabbage cocoon - never touching the sides of the roasting pan. It helps prevent browning of the golabki and infuses even more cabbage flavor.
Once the roasting pan is full, then the golabki is topped with it's tomato sauce. Nothing complicated here - we had a total of 18 golabki. I used two cans of condensed tomato soup along with one can of water. Heat in a sauce pan on the stove, and then ladle over the golabki.
After the tomato soup, sprinkle a little brown sugar on top (maybe 3 or 4 tablespoons). This gives just a hint of sweetness and deepens the flavor. It also cuts a bit of the acid from the tomato soup and the cabbage.
Just like the bottom of the pan, put cabbage leaves on top of the golabki once you have finished with the tomato soup and brown sugar. This will insure that the rolls don't brown from contact with the foil (which will go on top of the pan) and it will keep that cabbage flavor circulating while it bakes.
Finally, the golabki are ready to go in the oven. For the first bake, put them in for one and a half hour at 350 degrees. When you take them out, keep them covered. Let them cool. Put them in the refrigerator. DO NOT EAT THEM!! They haven't achieved their full potential - they must sit for a day (or two) and then, and only then, can you put them back in the oven for a second bake - one hour at 325 degrees, and enjoy every succulent bite! Or, you can put them in the freezer (like we're doing tonight) for a later time. Smacznego!!
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